Gold Prices Drop as Risk Appetite Returns
Investing.com - Gold prices dropped on Wednesday as investors opted to rotate out of the safe-haven asset in favor of stocks after a handful of Dow components reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings.
At 9:06 AM ET (14:06 GMT), gold futures for February delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $2.75, or 0.21%, to $1,280.65 a troy ounce.
After a 1% decline on Wall Street a day earlier, U.S. stocks bounced on Wednesday as blue-chips such as IBM (NYSE:IBM), Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) and United Technologies (NYSE:UTX) beat consensus earnings estimates, boosting risk sentiment and pushing gold lower.
A firm dollar also placed downward pressure on the yellow metal as the U.S. dollar index held near three-week highs. A stronger greenback makes the dollar-denominated metal more expensive for holders of foreign currencies.
Limiting losses in gold, investors remain cautious over global growth concerns as the trade spat between Washington and Beijing awaits a round of talks at the end of the month and little progress has been made in the U.K.’s negotiations to leave the European Union.
"Nervousness around global growth and trade tensions is certainly a factor driving the markets right now," said Michael McCarthy, chief markets strategist at CMC Markets.
In other metals trading, silver futures slipped 0.05% at $15.318 a troy ounce by 9:07 AM ET (14:07 GMT).
Palladium futures inched up 0.07% to $1,307.40 an ounce, while sister metal platinum traded up 0.30% at $793.55.
In base metals, copper rose 0.13% to $2.663 a pound.
-- Reuters contributed to this report.
Related Articles
Oil slips on rising U.S. rig count, China industrial slowdown
Climate Investment Funds to issue $500 million green bond this year or next
Gold / Silver / Copper Prices - Weekly Outlook: Jan. 28 - Feb. 1
